September Is For Democracy

The tragedies of September 11 ushered in an era of fear in the United States. How could we mark this day in a way that would transform its legacy? With conversations about the meaning of patriotism, say librarians.

“It should be the goal of libraries to have something in
them that will offend everyone,” says Nancy Pearl, librarian and
creator of the “If All Seattle Read the Same Book” project. She
believes lib-raries serve everyone across the ideological spectrum and
hopes the same will be true of the September Project, a series of civic
conversations to be held on September 11 this year and, organizers
hope, every year, at libraries across the country.

Founded by Sarah Washburn, a former employee of the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation, and David Silver, a University of Washington
professor, the September Project is a non-partisan effort to bring
people together for public dialogue to find common ground and
understanding. Silver believes the shadow of September 11 brought
public silence and personal isolation, perhaps exacerbated by factors
such as the Patriot Act and a lack of encouragement of civic
participation from both major parties' leaders. The country needs
creative remedies to reverse the isolation, he believes, and the
September Project could be one of them. This year's themes will be
democracy, citizenship, and patriotism.

Silver and Washburn feel libraries are the perfect hosts for the day,
because they are the only safe, public, equal opportunity, and free
space distributed widely across the nation. Pearl, who is serving on
the September Project's national board of advisors, agrees. “I think
the library is the last ‘small-d' democratic institution in our
nation,” she says. “It's absolutely vital we keep it alive.”

Participating libraries across the country will tailor events and
programming to their communities while reflecting on the three themes.
Libraries in Minnesota and Ohio plan to hold events on the topic of
America's role in the world. A group of libraries in Santa Cruz,
California, is collaborating with non-profit, cultural, and civic
organizations to develop events around the questions: What is great
about America? What needs fixing in America? And what are we going to
do to fix it?

The September Project is still evolving. Plans are shaping to turn
these local discussions into national and international dialogues.
Events, such as performances and roundtables, may be web-streamed to
all participating libraries. Building on Pearl's idea of getting
everyone in a community to read the same book, Washburn and Silver
suggest that everyone in the country read the Bill of Rights.

Washburn and Silver also see the September Project as an opportunity to
make September 11 a day of massive voter registration. “Maybe this can
be the legacy of September 11,” Silver said.

For more information on the September Project and how to initiate it at
your library, see www.theseptemberproject.org. Several libraries are
using YES! articles, discussion guides, and our book Making Peace:
Healing a Violent World as part of the September Project. You can
download YES! material at www.yesmagazine.org.